The forms
The relative pronoun agrees with the noun it refers back to:
| Antecedent | Relative pronoun |
|---|---|
| masculine singular | الَّذِي |
| feminine singular | الَّتِي |
| masculine dual | اللَّذَانِ / اللَّذَيْنِ |
| feminine dual | اللَّتَانِ / اللَّتَيْنِ |
| masculine plural (human) | الَّذِينَ |
| feminine plural (human) | اللَّاتِي / اللَّوَاتِي |
| plural (not human) | الَّتِي |
- الطَّالِبُ الَّذِي يَدْرُسُ الْعَرَبِيَّةَ صَدِيقِي. — The student who studies Arabic is my friend.
- الْمُعَلِّمَاتُ اللَّاتِي يَعْمَلْنَ هُنَا جَدِيدَاتٌ. — The teachers who work here are new.
- الْكُتُبُ الَّتِي عَلَى الطَّاوِلَةِ لِي. — The books that are on the table are mine.
Only after a definite noun
This is the rule with no English equivalent. If the noun before the clause is indefinite, no relative pronoun is used at all. The clause simply follows:
| Definite | Indefinite |
|---|---|
| رَأَيْتُ الرَّجُلَ الَّذِي يَقْرَأُ. | رَأَيْتُ رَجُلًا يَقْرَأُ. |
| the man who is reading | a man who is reading |
| الْبَيْتُ الَّذِي اشْتَرَيْتُهُ | بَيْتٌ اشْتَرَيْتُهُ |
| the house that I bought | a house that I bought |
The returning pronoun
The clause normally contains a pronoun pointing back at the noun, unless the noun is the subject of the clause. When that pronoun would be a direct object (قَرَأْتُهُ), MSA may drop it; after a preposition (فِيهِ, مَعَهُ) it always stays. Arabic calls it الْعَائِد, the one that returns:
- subject, no pronoun needed: الطَّالِبُ الَّذِي يَدْرُسُ — the student who studies
- object: الْكِتَابُ الَّذِي قَرَأْتُهُ — the book that I read it
- after a preposition: الْبَيْتُ الَّذِي سَكَنْتُ فِيهِ — the house that I lived in it
- possessive: الرَّجُلُ الَّذِي سَيَّارَتُهُ أَمَامَ الْبَيْتِ — the man whose car is in front of the house
A preposition can never be left at the end: it goes with its pronoun inside the clause.
مَا and مَن without an antecedent
مَا means "what" for things, مَنْ means "who" for people, and neither needs a noun in front:
- قَرَأْتُ مَا كَتَبْتَهُ. — I read what you wrote.
- أَعْرِفُ مَنْ فَعَلَ ذَلِكَ. — I know who did that.
Watch out as an English speaker
- English uses "who / that" whatever the noun; Arabic drops it after an indefinite noun. ✗ رَأَيْتُ رَجُلًا الَّذِي يَقْرَأُ. / ✓ رَأَيْتُ رَجُلًا يَقْرَأُ.
- English leaves a preposition dangling and drops the pronoun ("the man I spoke with"). After a preposition Arabic can never drop it. ✗ الرَّجُلُ الَّذِي تَكَلَّمْتُ / ✓ الرَّجُلُ الَّذِي تَكَلَّمْتُ مَعَهُ.
- The preposition cannot move to the front of the clause either. ✗ الرَّجُلُ الَّذِي مَعَ تَكَلَّمْتُ. / ✓ الرَّجُلُ الَّذِي تَكَلَّمْتُ مَعَهُ.
- A non-human plural takes الَّتِي. ✗ الْكُتُبُ الَّذِينَ قَرَأْتُهَا / ✓ الْكُتُبُ الَّتِي قَرَأْتُهَا.
Example dialogue
مَنِ الرَّجُلُ الَّذِي يَقِفُ هُنَاكَ؟ — Who is the man who is standing over there?
هُوَ الْمُهَنْدِسُ الَّذِي بَنَى الْمَدْرَسَةَ. — He is the engineer who built the school.
وَالْمَرْأَةُ الَّتِي مَعَهُ؟ — And the woman who is with him?
هِيَ الطَّبِيبَةُ الَّتِي تَحَدَّثْتُ مَعَهَا أَمْسِ. — She is the doctor I spoke with yesterday.
أَعْرِفُ مَنْ دَعَاهُمَا. — I know who invited the two of them.